BBC director-general reveals he received a "pretty good" AI-generated Doctor Who episode amid tender process

BBC director-general Matt Brittin has revealed that he recently received an AI-generated episode of Doctor Who that he thought was "pretty good".

The BBC has put the sci-fi series out to tender, inviting production companies to pitch a multi-episodic series, including specials, with a view to transmission in 2028/29.

Speaking at the Royal Television Society’s London convention about the power of AI, Brittin – who joined the BBC as director-general earlier this year after an 18-year stint at Google – said: "Everyone's got the ability in their hands, or six billion people have, to create content at the standard of a Hollywood studio.

"In some cases, it's not perfect, but look at what you can do. That's changing all the time."

He continued (via Deadline): "Somebody sent me a 50-minute episode of Doctor Who that was AI-generated the other day. It's pretty good.

"I mean, it's not going to replace humans. So, everyone's a creator."

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Brittin didn’t add any more details about who created the episode, or whether it used existing or entirely AI-generated actors.

When the BBC announced that Doctor Who would be put out to tender, the broadcaster said in a statement: "Doctor Who remains an important part of the BBC and this tender underpins the BBC’s continued commitment to Doctor Who ensuring audiences will enjoy the show for years to come."

The news comes after Brittin said on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg that he would allow AI to present future programmes "within guardrails", and that the corporation wants to "experiment with this technology and understand what it can and can't do".

Back in June, the BBC announced the first phase of a three‑year plan to make £500m of savings, closing 550 roles across News, Nations and Content divisions by the start of 2027/28.

The broadcaster said those cuts are expected to deliver around £160m of the overall target, with around 1,800 to 2,000 jobs expected to be axed over the next three years.

The BBC has also announced a series of programme cancellations in recent months as part of the cost-cutting measures, with Blankety Blank, Celebrity Mastermind and Live at the Apollo ending, and additional cuts to come in the next two years.

Press speculation last week surrounded the futures of BBC Three and BBC Scotland, although nothing has been officially announced.

Brittin addressed the BBC’s financial situation, saying: “The money runs out at the end of next year unless we have a new charter, and obviously the way that the funding of the BBC through the licence fee is going means that it’s a flush."

He added: “We need a new mechanism if we’re going to have the sort of scale of service media that we’ve had in the past. So, that’s all contributing to the jeopardy.”

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